Living out of my suitcase

From Kuching to Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta to Miri to Kota Kinabalu to Bintulu and to Kuching - all in two weeks! I am living out of my suitcase!

But it was all not too bad, in between, I had a chance to go back to Sibu to sleep for a night because the flight from Kota Kinabalu to Bintulu was cancelled and the next available flight would not be able to bring me to Bintulu in time for my event! I did a de-tour - from Kota Kinabalu to Sibu (that is one and half hour) arriving home at 10 pm, then the next morning leaving for airport at 6 am for Bintulu (35 minutes' flight).

I only got to say "Hi" to Chris though!

Just some pictures - none of them taken by me anyway. I did not bring my camera along.

That's breakfast with Jakarta Post. The time read 9:14 am? It was 8:14 am Malaysia time. Well, I had done my 5km walk in the gym and after the breakfast, I went for a one and half hour SPA as my next programme started at 12 noon.

And that's lunch...

The demostration we saw on the way to our business meeting.

We arrived on Thursday (28th Feb) which marked the 100th day of the President's second term. The authorities earlier estimated that 40,000, spread out into groups in spots including the State Palace, the vice presidential palace, the finance ministry, Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, the House of Representatives' building and the Corruption Eradication Commission.

However, the rallies fell flat with low turnout. Only around 7000 turned The protesters criticized the government for failing to satisfactorily execute the 100-day programmes. They demanded that Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono prove his commitment to eradicating corruption, starting with the legal conclusion of the Bank Century scandal.

The local Jakarta Post reported that the demonstrators comprised not only idealist students, but also housewives and professionals who helped provide transport and food packages. But there were also "professional demonstrators" who acknowledged that they could make good use of the Rp 25,000 (that's less than RM10) they were given for the lively stroll around the Palace.

And this is getting into serious business...

The last glimpse of Jakarta before our department. The dog smelling the bags of the guests before entering the hotel. The host did not put us up at JW Marriot eventhough it was giving an offer of USD50 nett plus breakfast and even a spa. We checked into Gran Melia. This picture was taken before departure for the airport. First, I was scared...

Then I went nearer!

Of course, I saw more than a dog and a demo in Jakarta. However, just a little more which I shall blog another day another time!

In Miri, Kota Kinabalu, Bintulu, yours truly was doing a presentation of the group's media division. I called that "road show" - well, seem to do fine with public speaking - look at the smile! But I think I had a way out, notice the KELUAR sign just beside?

The audience - almost 500 of them. You notice an empty seat on the first table? I am on stage! I am glad that I do not spot anyone sleeping while I talked...

That's about it for the time being - I still have two more stations to present. The last stop is Sibu on the 10th when I shall stay on after Chinese New Year...